


Little Red One

by Revasnaslan



Series: Keithtober 2k17 [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Baby Keith (Voltron), Background Thace/Ulaz, Dads of Marmora (Voltron), Fluff, Galra Keith (Voltron), Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-20
Updated: 2017-12-28
Packaged: 2019-01-20 07:38:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 4,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12428013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Revasnaslan/pseuds/Revasnaslan
Summary: A compilation of Dads of Marmora ficlets I wrote for Keithtober over on Tumblr.





	1. Stars

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted 10/01/17 over on Tumblr.

The stars were all Keith had ever known. They were all he could ever see out past the solar flare that surrounded the Blade of Marmora’s main base. Whenever he could, he would beg Thace to take him up to the observation deck. There he would stand, tiny hands pressed against the glass as he stood up on his tip-toes and tried to practice his constellations, like Ulaz had taught him.

For his fourth name day, he had asked if he could go outside the flare, only to be told no.

He wasn’t old enough (yet). He wasn’t strong enough (yet).

But one day… one day, he would be.

And that was the day he’d be able to see the stars in their full glory.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tumblr: [revasnaslan](http://revasnaslan.tumblr.com/)


	2. Nature

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted 10/02/17 over on Tumblr.

Keith liked flowers, even if he didn’t see many of them.

There just wasn’t enough room for them when all available space on the main base had to be used for growing foodstuffs. What flowers the Blade of Marmora did keep were well looked after, though. Keith’s favorite were the _polan_ flowers that blossomed every year around his name day. The petals of the dark purple flowers glowed in the low light of the base, dotting their tree like stars.

Last year, around his fifth name day, Keith had threaded some of them together—with Ulaz’s help—when they had visited the tree after his lessons. And the flowers smelled really nice…

When Keith wasn’t sneezing because of them, of course. The resulting cloud of pollen spread through the air, and some of it settled into Keith’s hair, bright pink standing stark against near-black. The rest continued floating through the air, or got caught in Thace’s thick fur.

And Thace did not appear amused. His ears had pinned back as soon as Keith sneezed, and now he had a deadpan expression on his face as he watched the remaining pollen drift through the air.

“I think…” Thace began as he reached out in a fruitless attempt to get the pollen out of Keith’s hair, “that’s enough of the gardens today, don’t you?”

Keith’s only response was another sneeze.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tumblr: [revasnaslan](http://revasnaslan.tumblr.com/)


	3. Galra

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted 10/03/17 over on Tumblr.

“What do you do, Laz?” Keith asked.

“I am a _xenobiologist_ ,” Ulaz said, pronouncing each syllable clearly and carefully.

Keith just stared back at Ulaz blankly, with all the disinterest of a cub who had only just passed his fourth name day. “That word is stupid. And _boring_ ,” he grumbled, pouting as he sunk into Ulaz’s arms. He had hoped that even if Ulaz’s job was boring—all he ever seemed to do was look at slides—then the _name_ of the job would sound… better? Or at least be easy to pronounce.

Ulaz purred softly in amusement. “You say that, but I’m the one who keep track of all your records, kitling,” he retorted, cracking a smile—and Keith caught the flash of Ulaz’s sharp teeth in the dim light of the room. If Ulaz said anything else, Keith didn’t hear him, as he reached out, trying to push Ulaz’s lip further back in an attempt to see his large canines. Keith knew that his own teeth were blunter than the average Galra’s, and he just wanted to compare.

Ulaz sputtered in surprise before he took hold of Keith’s wrist and gently pulled his hand away. “What do you think you’re doing?” he asked.

“Your teeth are sharp,” Keith said simply. “Wanna see.”

Ulaz sighed, tilting his head to the side. “Then, you can ask? I thought Thace was teaching you manners.”

Keith pouted and then stuck his tongue out—and Ulaz was more than happy to play along, sticking his tongue out in return.


	4. Tears

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted 10/04/17 over on Tumblr.

Keith sniffled, wiping his eyes as he pushed himself up to sit, looking at his knee. He had scraped it up pretty badly when he had fallen, and when he caught sight of red, more tears began to fall, rolling down his cheeks.

“Keith?”

He looked up at the sound of Kolivan’s voice as Kolivan crouched down beside him. Keith hiccuped, trying to bite back his tears—none of the Blades cried because they got scrapes, so he wasn’t going to either. However, Kolivan’s brow furrowed in concern as he looked the scrape over.

“Oh, that’s not so bad,” Kolivan assured him.

“I didn’t mean to fall…” Keith mumbled, and he hissed when Kolivan lightly touched the skin around the scrape.

Kolivan apologized softly, reaching out to ruffle Keith’s headfur. “Well, now you know how to watch where you step,” he said, getting back to his feet with a soft grunt, before lightly plucking Keith up and setting him on his shoulders. “Come on, little one… Ulaz can fix that for you.”

Keith sniffled and nodded as his tears began to dry up. “Is it gonna scar, Van?” he asked, burying his fingers into the fluff of Kolivan’s ears. “Then we’ll both have scars…”

He barely heard Kolivan’s amused chuckle. “Well now, wouldn’t that be something?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tumblr: [revasnaslan](http://revasnaslan.tumblr.com/)


	5. Alternate Reality

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted 10/05/17 over on Tumblr.

When Slav visited, he would talk about all sorts of interesting things while working, especially if Keith asked him questions. However, he only visited sporadically, so Keith only saw him maybe one or two quintants out of a given year, and Slav didn’t often stay long.

When Keith had asked once, Thace had explained that Slav was only there in order to perform maintenance. Keith didn’t really understand that, since he had thought they had technicians that handled that kind of stuff. So, he decided to ask.

“Why are you visiting?” he said, ducking underneath of one of Slav’s many arms to try and see the monitor he was looking at. None of it made any sense to Keith, but he tried to look like he knew what he was reading anyway.

“Because, I am showing Kolivan a new and improved gravity generator!” Slav said, eyes never straying from his typing. Keith had always been fascinated by how Slav could focus on doing that while _also_ tapping away at an extra datapad.

“What’s a… gravity generator?” Keith said, tilting his head.

“It cloaks bases,” Kolivan explained simply from where he stood a couple of feet away.

“In eighty-seven percent of realities, this improved generator will ensure the Blade of Marmora remains hidden!” Slav said exuberantly. But then, half a tick later, his eyes narrowed as he looked at another set of calculations. “Of course, according to this, in zero-point-six percent of realities—”

“Slav,” Kolivan cut in, and Slav moved onto something else.

Keith opened his mouth to argue—he wanted to know what happened in zero-point-six percent of realities—but he decided against it when he saw a stern look from Kolivan. So, he dropped it and tried to make sense of the rest of Slav’s explanations instead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tumblr: [revasnaslan](http://revasnaslan.tumblr.com/)


	6. Quiet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted 10/06/17 over on Tumblr.

Keith practiced his pouncing often. None of his caretakers ever told him off for it, after all. They often played along, actually, even faking having not seen him. Sneaking around and trying to remain quiet was an important part of his training—or so he had been told when he tried to practice his pouncing on Kolivan.

His favorite person to try sneaking up on was Antok, though. Mostly because of Antok’s tail.

When Antok cubsat, Keith never really strayed that far, even though Antok had a tendency to let him do his own thing. This was simply because Keith was always trying to catch hold of the tip of Antok’s tail. It twitched and shifted against the floor almost constantly, depending on what Antok was doing. He was always too focused on _catching_ Antok’s tail to care what Antok was doing, though.

Today, he quietly crept across the floor, keeping his eyes locked on the tip of Antok’s tail as it twitched back and forth against the floor. Antok was distracted by counting a group of cases holding provisions and making notes of the numbers on his datapad. Keith occasionally glanced up, just to make sure that Antok hadn’t noticed him as he made his way across the floor, taking care where he stepped.

He readied himself to pounce when Antok’s tail suddenly lifted out of his read and Antok glanced over his shoulder.

“Try again,” Antok said. “Your foot slid across the floor.”

Then, he moved onto the next set of crates, without paying Keith mind. Keith grinned and readied himself for another try.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i think this one is the most popular one i've posted so far for keithtober lol
> 
> tumblr: [revasnaslan](http://revasnaslan.tumblr.com/)


	7. Lion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted 10/07/17 over on Tumblr.

Some of Keith’s favorite bedtime stories were about the legends about the Lions of Voltron. Many—such as Thace—believed they were only a child’s tale, while others—such as Ulaz—were firm believers in their existence.

“What did the lions look like, Thay?” Keith asked. He was sat in Ulaz’s lap as both of them had been listening with rapt attention to Thace’s story.

At Keith’s question, Thace let out a soft huff of amusement—because it was one he had asked several times before. “Like short-haired pyjas… or so the stories go. But since they haven’t been sighted in thousands of years—”

Keith frowned. “Where is Voltron?” He had asked several times before, but neither Thace or Ulaz had ever had an answer for him before. However, he continued asking, just on the off chance that something had changed since the last time he asked.

“It just… vanished,” Thace explained. “Nobody knows what happened to it.”

“My bloodmother always told me that it vanished because of Zarkon,” Ulaz retorted.

Keith perked up, even in spite of his growing drowsiness. “What if someone found it?”

Thace did not appear as amused by this question, as he frowned and his ears began twitching. “Oh, no, no, no… don’t you get any ideas. You’re too young to go running off after one of those beasts.”

“When I’m bigger?” Keith asked through a yawn.

“Yes,” Thace agreed, reaching out to lightly smooth some of Keith’s hair out of his face. “Perhaps when you’re bigger and stronger…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tumblr: [revasnaslan](http://revasnaslan.tumblr.com/)


	8. Black

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted 10/22/17 over on Tumblr.

Certain parts of the base weren’t lit very well during the night cycle, though the lighting was normally pretty dim regardless. Keith couldn’t see in the dark as well as most of the Blades on base could, but he had heard a noise. A soft clicking sound, barely audible to his ear, and he couldn’t quite pinpoint its location.

So, he was going to try and find it. Even if the dark was scary.

Keeping one hand on the wall, Keith carefully made his way along the hall. As he peered into the darkness, looking for the source of the noise, he noticed that that he had wandered far without seeing another Blade. He wonder if one would come running if he ended up getting into trouble—monsters lived in the dark after all… but someone usually came running if he started crying. He was actually getting pretty close to that, sniffling a little bit as a couple of tears formed. When he glanced back, he could no longer see the door to Thace and Ulaz’s room, and this entire sub-deck looked exactly the same to him.

What if he got lost forever?

Then, he perked up, hearing the clicking noise again. This time, it came from behind him, much louder than it had been before. He turned his head, and then had to tilt his head back. Antok stood there, tilting his head to the side, with his ears alert. His tail tip flicked back and forth curiously, brushing against the floor, but he said nothing. Instead, he leaned down to scoop Keith up once Keith held up his hands. A deep purr rumbled in Antok’s chest as he butt his nose against Keith’s temple. Then, he continued along his previous route without a word, and Keith settled in, feeling safer now that he had a protector from the darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> since people really seem to like my Antok&Keith stuff :P
> 
> tumblr: [revasnaslan](http://revasnaslan.tumblr.com/)


	9. Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted 10/25/17 over on Tumblr.

It was supposed to be a tracking exercise for Keith—find the cubs that were visiting with their father, based on hearing and smell. He couldn’t hear or smell as well as most Galra cubs, but what he lacked in natural ability, he made up for in determination to succeed. He hurried down the hall, keeping a look out for any signs of Regris. Thace, who was on cub sitting duty, followed a couple of paces behind. He was offering no help, although he seemed to be having just as much trouble tracking Regris as Keith was…

Keith was keeping his gaze trained up on the pipes and ventilation systems—Regris liked climbing on things, and would hide in the shadows, using his tail as an anchoring point to keep himself from falling. It had been a good half-varga of tracking now, and Keith still hadn’t seen any signs of his friend.

Then, he heard the shift of something against a metal pipe and Thace shrieked in surprise as Regris suddenly appeared right in front of him, hanging upside down by his tail.

“ _Regris_! Don’t do that!”

Regris just laughed, easily flipping down onto the floor after letting go of the pipe he had been hanging from.

“You were supposed to say hidden!” Keith complained. “I can’t practice if you don’t stay hidden!”

Regris’s tail tip began twitching back and forth rapidly, like it always did when he was annoyed. “You passed me three times! I was getting bored!”

If Keith had actually had fur, he probably would have fluffed up. “It’s not fair that you hid up there! My nose can’t reach that far!”

“Boys— _hey_!” Thace cut in, catching both of them off guard. “You two are _friends_ , you’re not supposed to be fighting over this.”

Regris’s tail tip had still against the floor and he pouted looking a little guilty. “Go again?” he suggested. “I’ll stay on the ground this time.”

Keith scoffed, grinning. “This time, I’ll find you!”

Regris returned the grin and took off, disappearing down the hall and around the corner to find another hiding place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tumblr: [revasnaslan](http://revasnaslan.tumblr.com/)


	10. Blade

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted 10/26/17 over on Tumblr.

Keith didn’t know why Kolivan was cubsitting today—normally, he was too busy. However, Keith wasn’t about to complain. Kolivan was letting Keith and his friends fight today… okay, _technically_ , it was supposed to be practicing their self-defense. Even the youngest Blades learned how to defend themselves if need be, just in case an adult wasn’t present when they needed one.

Some took to it more than others. Regris was a worthy opponent, but his sister, Ruhk, hadn’t fought once yet since they had started. Kolivan wasn’t make much of an effort to force her to participate, though. Keith had only glanced over at them once. Mostly this was to check if Kolivan looked impressed, because Keith had been _practicing_. While Ruhk remained half-hidden behind Kolivan’s legs, peering out to watch, Kolivan stood straight with his hands resting at the small of his back, as usual. He appeared as impassive as ever, with the slight perk of his ears being the only indication that he was intently watching for the victor.

Regris used Keith’s distraction as a chance to tackle him to the ground, laughing all the while. Keith immediately started squirming, but Regris was bigger than he was, and sat on his stomach to pin him.

“Get off!” Keith complained. “Van, tell him to get off!”

Kolivan’s ears shifted back, twitching slightly in amusement. “You shouldn’t have let your guard down like that, cub,” he chastised, though not unkindly. Then, he turned his attention to the cub hiding behind him. “Ruhk, do you know why your brother won?”

Ruhk’s tail tip flicked back and forth as she thought. “Because… Keith wasn’t paying attention?”

“Exactly,” Kolivan said, nodding curtly before he looked back at Keith and Regris. “You must always pay attention to your opponent, so that they cannot find an opening.”

Keith roughly shoved Regris off of him as he sat up. “Let’s go again,” he demanded. “Can we use the practice swords, Van?”

Regris visibly perked up at the suggestion. “Yeah, can we?”

Kolivan scoffed, not looking terribly impressed. “And have you two carted off to the medical bay because you whacked each other in the face? I think not. Now, go again, we’ll see if you learned anything.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ruhk is just an oc of mine that's regris's twin sister <3 she's a shy bby
> 
> tumblr: [revasnaslan](http://revasnaslan.tumblr.com/)


	11. Dreams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *arrives two months late with starbucks* time to finish these things before the new year!

Nights on the Blade of Marmora’s main base usually passed by quickly enough for Keith—when he managed to sleep through them anyway. Tonight was not one of those nights. Instead, he carefully crept across the room to where Ulaz was sleeping. Keith couldn’t see Thace, though. He tried to keep from making too much noise anyway. When he was close enough, he stood on his tip toes, reached out and lightly bat at Ulaz’s nose.

Ulaz snorted, blinking sleepily. His ears twitched and drew back as he sighed upon seeing Keith. “Cub, go back to bed…” he mumbled, sounding only half awake as he pawed blindly at the shelf beside the bed. He blinked against the harsh light as his datapad came on. “It’s zero-two-hundred,” he said through a yawn. “That means it’s time to sleep…”

“But—” Keith began.

“You need your rest,” Ulaz said.

“But I had a nightmare,” Keith mumbled, shuffling his feet a little bit against the floor.

At that, Ulaz propped himself up—he seemed more awake now. “And now you can’t sleep?”

Keith shook his head before he reached out his hands. “Can I sleep with you?”

“Of course,” Ulaz assured him, lightly scooping Keith up. Keith immediately snuggled in, and surrounded by warmth and soft, soothing purring, he began to feel a little better. It didn’t take much longer for him to doze off, and he didn’t have another nightmare for the rest of the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tumblr: [revasnaslan](http://revasnaslan.tumblr.com/)


	12. Purple

Keith yelped as he was caught by the back of his paint-stained shirt and lifted off the ground. Below him, Regris was easily captured only a moment later, when Antok carefully set his foot down on the end of Regris’s tail. Keith knew this looked bad. There was paint _everywhere_. From the floor, to the walls, to himself and Regris. Mostly hand prints. Regris was sporting an almost perfect print over top of one of his eyes from where Keith had managed to get him during their paint fight.

“I turned my back on you for two ticks,” Antok sighed.

“Are we in trouble?” Keith asked. He looked a little sheepish as he tried to sink into his own shirt, feeling his cheeks heat.

Antok sighed heavily. “No,” he said, ears pinning back as his thick fur fluffed up. “But you’re both going to need baths.”

“ _Ewwww_ ,” Regris complained as Antok grabbed hold of the back of his shirt and lifted him off the floor as well.

“You can’t run around the base leaving paint everywhere,” Antok said as he turned to leave the room, awkwardly hobbling on one foot to try and reach the pad that opened the door to the room. “And you should have thought about that before you got paint all over yourselves.”

“You could use your tail,” Regris pointed out.

“I don’t need your sass,” Antok retorted, even as he did what Regris suggested, and the door slid open. “ _Now_ , it’s bath time.”

Keith and Regris exchanged an annoyed glance before they both accepted their fates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tumblr: [revasnaslan](http://revasnaslan.tumblr.com/)


	13. Space

“We have to go _this_ way!” Keith said, reaching out to rest one of tiny hands on top of Thace’s to nudge the simulator’s controls to the left. In front of them, the front windows of the simulator displayed an obstacle course, rather than a combat simulation—but the obstacle courses were Keith’s favorite. “Thay! _This_ way!” he said, more insistently when he noticed Thace wasn’t listening to him.

Thace hummed softly in acknowledgment. “Are you sure, kitling?” he asked. “We’re supposed to be going through the rings.”

Keith paused—he had considered that. Most of the time, he just liked being what Thace called a ‘backseat pilot’. He would sit in Thace’s lap, peering over the top of the controls as he tried to see out the simulator’s windows at the course. He was still too small to do the simulations on his own, even though he had been trying to insist that he was older now. He poked his head up now, checking the simulation, and found that there wasn’t a ring in the direction he had been trying to get Thace to go.

“Oh,” he said, untroubled. Then, he crawled over and balanced himself on Thace’s knee as he nudged Thace’s other hand. “ _This_ way!”

Thace chuckled before doing as the cub said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tumblr: [revasnaslan](http://revasnaslan.tumblr.com/)


	14. Future

“Van?” Keith asked, flopping down across Kolivan’s lap as he worked on something on his datapad.

“Yes, little one?” Kolivan said patiently, not looking up from his datapad. “Did you need something?”

“I have a question,” Keith said, face set in determination. He knew that Kolivan could get annoyed if people asked too many questions. Well, Ulaz said that, anyway. Thace, however, was always quick to remind him that it was people asking Kolivan _silly_ questions they would’ve known the answers to if they had been paying attention. Keith had been paying attention, though, and nobody had asked Kolivan _his_ question, so he figured he was safe.

“Oh, just one?” Kolivan said, ears twitching in amusement. Still, he didn’t look away from his datapad, but his ears had shifted forward, so Keith knew he was listening. “Normally, you have several. Go on then.”

“When do I get to start training?” Keith asked.

“How old are you?” Kolivan asked, glancing up from the datapad at him.

“My fifth name day is in…” Keith trailed off and began counting on his fingers, trying to remember what Thace had told him a couple of quintants ago. “ _Two_ rotations,” he finally said—if he had had fur, he would have fluffed up in pride.

“Oh, you still have several name days to go, little one,” Kolivan said, reaching out to lightly ruffle Keith’s headfur. Upon noticing Keith’s disappointed look, he quickly added, “But one day you will.”

“One day soon?” Keith asked.

“Soon enough,” Kolivan assured him.

Keith didn’t ask why Kolivan’s ears had suddenly pinned back or why he was sadder than he had been.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tumblr: [revasnaslan](http://revasnaslan.tumblr.com/)


	15. Keith

When Thace had told Keith that someone would be visiting them today, at first, he had been excited because he thought Ulaz was coming back from the mission he was on. It felt like he had been gone _forever_ and Keith missed him a lot. However, Thace had quickly told him that it was another cub, a little bit older than Keith was. Keith didn’t know if he had ever seen another cub. He couldn’t remember much from before he had been brought to the Blade of Marmora’s base. Thace had told him once that he was very small when that had happened, though.

Now, Keith sat with Thace on the observation deck, while Thace pointed out stars and helped Keith work out which constellations were which. Thace stopped abruptly when the doors to the room slid open with a faint _whoosh_ and his ears perked straight up as he looked over his shoulder. When Keith looked over too, he saw an older Blade who he didn’t recognize—he had never seen them around the base before—and there was a smaller cub peeking out from behind them.

Keith shied away, ducking underneath Thace’s arm and trying to hide.

“Hello, Roshar,” Thace greeted, before nodding to the cub. “Is that Regris?”

The other Blade, Roshar, nodded as he lightly pat the cub’s head—and Keith’s eyes widened when a thin, forked tongue flicked out of the other cub’s mouth. “Regris, go say hello,” Roshar encouraged, giving the cub a nudge.

Regris was not nearly as shy as Keith was. He only hesitated for a couple of ticks, giving his father a nervous glance before he stepped forward, stopping only a couple of feet away. “Hi,” he said quietly, tail tip flicking back and forth nervously against the floor.

“Keith, won’t you say hello?” Thace asked, lightly running his hand over the top of Keith’s headfur. “Regris isn’t going to bite you. Are you, Regris?”

“No, Papa says it’s rude to show people my fangs,” Regris said, tilting his head to the side in confusion.

“You have fangs?” Keith asked, visibly perking up although he didn’t leave the safety of Thace’s arms.

“You can show him, Regris,” Roshar said. “Just be careful…”

“Wanna see?” Regris asked, coming closer. When Keith nodded, Regris opened his mouth, flexing the fangs that had been resting against the roof of his mouth. When he closed his mouth again, they tucked neatly back into place. “Papa says my venom’s starting to come in.”

“Whoa…” Keith said in awe. Then, he turned to look at Thace in confusion. “You don’t have fangs…”

“Regris is half-Galra, like you,” Thace explained. “I figured you two would be good friends… why don’t you show him some of the constellations?”

Keith was still a little nervous, though. However, Regris seemed eager, watching him expectantly. Finally, Keith nodded. “Okay,” he said, offering Regris his hand. “C’mon! Thay just showed me some new ones!”

Regris took his hand, and they spent the rest of the afternoon looking at the stars.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tumblr: [revasnaslan](http://revasnaslan.tumblr.com/)
> 
> t b h i might revisit this one and make it longer at some point lmao... cause i really like this but i had to rush to get it finished XD


End file.
